Which to use
“plane” is an adjective and “please” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,072
- “plane” frequency rank
- #12,148
- “please” frequency rank
- 21220
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plane | please |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs plan | bitte |
Where the eye mixes plane and please
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses plane with please
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: plane is [ˈplaːnə] while please is [pliːz]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21220, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
plane is recorded at frequency rank #9,072, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈplaːnə]. please is at rank #12,148, tagged as anadv, pronounced [pliːz].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 21220, this pair ranks #1,888,836 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of plane vs please
Shared letters: aelp. Private to "plane": n. Private to "please": s.
"plane" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "please" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "plane" for "please" ever safe?
Frequency check: "plane" vs "please" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "plane" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "please" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,888,836 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plane" and "please" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plane vs prank". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,888,836 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.